soy allergy?

[Spinkle]

We've been GFCF for about a month. DS has steadfastly refused soya yoghurts. He has preferred the dairy free icecream.

Fine.

He has quite a bit over the last couple of days and his eczema has flared up massively. He often has little patches on the inside of his elbows but now we see patches on his back and shoulders.

I'm thinking it may be soya since that's what's increased over the last month. The scratching is driving him a bit batty.

Is it worth pulling the diet to see if it improves?Allergy testing will take forever on the NHS and we are strapped for cash as it is - but if it keeps on then he'll have no skin left and it certainly won't improve his mood/behaviour.

Thoughts?

He hasn't complained of tummy ache (yet).

I'm a bit stumped to what to give him if we pull soya too.

He'll eat GF bread under duress, chips and GFCF chicken nuggets. Sweets and GFCF chocolate. And dairy free icecream.

He's a restrictive eater, we've narrowed what he can eat with the GFCF diet and if we remove diet it would leave chips........

DD was CF for just under a year. We used to give her a soya yogurt every day. She used to have extremely loose stools which stank and as foolish as I am it took me a good few months to make the connection that it may be soya. We removed soya and her stools returned to solid. She is back eating a couple of dairy yougurts a day.

A lot of people think that soy is the obvious option once gfcf but it has its own issues which are well recognised. I can't give any links I'm afraid but I know there is some issue connected to causing early puberty and I'm not sure if anything else. Our Paediatrician some years ago knew all about this so it is not some weird theory. Have a deeper dig if you can.

Thanks for that. He's always had a little bit but this flare up has been pretty epic.

We've decided to go off GFCF for a week and see if it helps. Ultimately his behaviour is not going to improve if he's miserable from scratching and bleeding.

Hi,

I believe that soy is one of those things that lots of people develop allergies to.

If not allergic then in moderation it's ok, but as a total dairy replacement not sure. However I can confirm that lots and lots of soy isn't good for children. It can affect thyroid, make boys infertile.......It's down to the phyto-oestrogens which actually makes it great for women of a certain age and helps with menopause symptoms. It seems that babies fed solely on soya milk consume the equivalent oestrogen levels of 5 contraceptive pills!!!

see here (www.theargus.co.uk/news/807967.is_soya_really_so_good_for_you/) lots of other info if you use google.

I know this because my little boy was put on soya milk as a baby which I seriously objected to and did lots of research.

If you can take it out of the diet and use something else then try that.

Vance's potato milk powder, which you mix with water is a good alternative and contains equivalent calcium and more vitamins than dairy.

Smells lovely, haven't tasted it though.....you can buy it at dietaryneedsdirect.co.uk

What shaz said.

I saw a dietician with DS3 and asked about the soya issues as i had read there are lots of ?s. Not good for young babies_ early toddlers. Shouldn't have the same impact as children get older. The problem occurs when you replace all the dairy products with soya products. The body then reacts again to overloading. I try to vary the alternatives that we use. Choosing a sunflower spread instead of soya, using oat milk/cream etc should lessen the amount of soya. Although if your DS is on a restrictive diet anyway - maybe just look at the non soya versions available of the products he likes. Chips should be ok though !

There's very few non soya GFCF stuff he will eat. He cannot survive off chips alone (he will only eat the fried ones - I don't fancy doing that 3 times a day)

I will look into the potato milk although he refuses milk totally and will only drink water.

Who'd a thought feeding a kid was so bloomin complicated?

hi Spinkle, soy and dairy free is a particularly difficult combination but other sources of calcium include some orange juices and some brands of rice milk with added calcium also some mineral waters if you check the labels have high calcium levels naturally.(Have just checked recycling and san pellegrino is particularly high) Otherwise you may have to go down the calcium supplement tablets route, not always popular with dcs.

Although nhs referrals testing can take time, it's still worth pursuing to get advice from a dietician. Also we found advice of eczema/allergy specialist nurse at local hospital invaluable for dd (multiple allergies and severe eczema). Biggest issue for us is compliance. Novelty of special diet has very much worn off for dd who is 10 and merrily tucks into things she knows she will pay for in terms of acute itchiness shortly afterwords.

It's very difficult to get a palatable gf bread - we found pittas once toasted the most palatable of ready made varieties. If you can discover your inner domestic goddess, it's possible to make reasonably palatable home-made bread/pancakes/cakes using gf flour, pure sunflower spread, coconut or rice milk although you will need to experiment a bit with quantities as will probaly need more liquid than with standard flour recipes.

Very much sympathise with the what's left to eat feeling as dd won't eat veg beyond the occasional pea, carrot or potato, refuses meat, and shouldn't have wheat, soya ,dairy, orange, nuts...